Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ar-rawdah and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Ar-rawdah: $1,388 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rawdah
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Ar-rawdah Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Ar-rawdah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,388

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ar-rawdah and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ar-rawdah and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,388 in Ar-rawdah versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Ar-rawdah $1,388
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ar-rawdah versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Ar-rawdah $2,297
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,205 in Ar-rawdah versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Ar-rawdah $3,205
Nosara $3,818

Living in Ar-rawdah costs roughly 24% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ar-rawdah 3% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.75 KWD 3.93

$12.35 ₡5,539

3.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.3 KWD 19.51

$61.2 ₡27.4K

3.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.94 KWD 2.75

$7.52 ₡3,373

18.88%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 KWD 0.97

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.88 KWD 1.50

Cappuccino

$5.20 KWD 1.60

$4.41 ₡1,978

17.91%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 KWD 0.23

$1.74 ₡780

-56.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 KWD 0.09

$1.31 ₡587

-77.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 KWD 0.48

$1.56 ₡701

-0.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 KWD 0.45

$3.02 ₡1,355

-51.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 KWD 0.59

$2.51 ₡1,125

-23.51%

Eggs

$2.07 KWD 0.64

$3.57 ₡1,603

-42.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.42 KWD 1.36

$7.43 ₡3,333

-40.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.57 KWD 2.02

$10.52 ₡4,717

-37.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.02 KWD 3.09

$13.97 ₡6,265

-28.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.41 KWD 0.74

$2.35 ₡1,052

2.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 KWD 0.57

$1.61 ₡720

15.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 KWD 0.55

$4.80 ₡2,152

-62.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 KWD 0.46

$1.61 ₡724

-7.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 KWD 0.42

$3.80 ₡1,703

-64.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 KWD 0.43

$3.69 ₡1,657

-61.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.25 KWD 0.69

$1.13 ₡507

99.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 KWD 0.18

$2.66 ₡1,191

-77.82%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.13 KWD 0.96

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 KWD 0.84

$5.18 ₡2,321

-47.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.91 KWD 0.28

$1.12 ₡504

-18.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.80 KWD 1.48

$2.14 ₡958

124.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.28 KWD 1.01

$1.57 ₡703

108.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.12 KWD 4.97

$8.52 ₡3,823

89.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.35 KWD 0.11

$1.52 ₡682

-76.97%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$20.5K KWD 6,322

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-5.05%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$20.0K KWD 6,148

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-42.19%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$65.7 KWD 20.24

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-31.79%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$22.87 KWD 7.05

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-36.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.24 KWD 9.32

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-43.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$92.7 KWD 28.55

$71.6 ₡32.1K

29.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$11.18 KWD 3.45

$7.89 ₡3,539

41.70%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$298 KWD 91.8

$494 ₡221.6K

-39.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,192 KWD 2,832

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-22.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.80 KWD 11.34

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-31.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.38 KWD 12.13

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-28.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.6 KWD 30.39

$77.9 ₡34.9K

26.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.2 KWD 26.88

$79.6 ₡35.7K

9.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$793 KWD 244

$788 ₡353.4K

0.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 KWD 195

$794 ₡356.2K

-20.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,501 KWD 463

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-61.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 KWD 417

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-4.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,601 KWD 493

$1,224 ₡549.0K

30.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

8.62

-24.25%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Ar-rawdah: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Ar-rawdah

$633 45.6%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 25.4% $161

Eating Out

Ar-rawdah

$195 14.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 8.4% $16

Groceries & Markets

Ar-rawdah

$183 13.2%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 92.3% $169

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ar-rawdah

$119 8.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 56.4% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Ar-rawdah

$118 8.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 1.8% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Ar-rawdah

$115 8.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 24% $28

Getting Around

Ar-rawdah

$25 * 1.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 251% $62

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $793 in Ar-rawdah and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $63.0 in Ar-rawdah vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $183 vs $352, with Ar-rawdah cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Ar-rawdah

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

08:38 8:38 AM

23:38 11:38 PM

9 h behind Ar-rawdah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ar-rawdah Nosara 13,400 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Ar-rawdah
Nosara

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ar-rawdah vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ar-rawdah wins on cost – living expenses run 32% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ar-rawdah the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,083 in Ar-rawdah and $2,758 in Nosara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $793 in Ar-rawdah versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 92% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,388 per month in Ar-rawdah versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 32% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,388 in Ar-rawdah versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ar-rawdah but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Ar-rawdah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ar-rawdah delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,388 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ar-rawdah hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ar-rawdah and Nosara are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ar-rawdah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.